Just an off the top of the head thought – you should attempt to discuss gun issues with people, not debate them. Debating makes it a win / lose thing. Discussion means you can bring up facts and figures without putting them on the defensive.

I need to heed that advice myself. It’s always a debate with me.

Hmm. Just a thought.

posted by by Robb Allen @ 12/31/2012 3:50:04 PM

Comments

The problem with "discussing" things with those wanting to ban guns or otherwise impose their notions of "how things ought to be" is that you are left with only a few options such as "Well, I disagree," and "There are other ways to see things" (implicit is the rest of the sentence, which is "and you are refusing to even acknowledge they exisat."), and finally "Why am I even bothering to talk with you when all you do is repeat the same crazy and untrue things, hoping that if you do it often enough it will magically become rational and true?"

The thing is, I can "see" their side and I will even admit that they are sincere in believing that their plans might "fix" things. But I can also "see" - this time with facts - that it just cannot happen. It all comes back to "When guns are outlawed only the criminals will have guns."

Because I work in the science community with people who know and understand data and statistics I like to bring up facts until they start pushing back with natural skepticism, as what I tell them goes against what they've been fed at face value all their lives.

I then tell them to not believe me and do what I did, and gather the data for themselves.

I don't talk about what I want or think or feel. Any time you put yourself in the argument, you might become just another selfish gun nut. I try to refer to data, such as the effect of the last AWB on crime, or state-by-state data on crime rates vs. gun laws. I also try to correct misconceptions about modern firearms, and point out that semi-automatic firearms were available to the public before the Model T.

I brought Ophelia (my AR-15 chambered in 300 AAC Blackout) with me on my visit to my ancestral home in Missouri for two reasons. The obvious reason is that my father wanted to see the rifle I had bragged about assembling. More subtly, I wanted my attorney brother-in-law to hold an AR-15 that was at least as suitable for hunting as any rifle chambered for .30-30 Winchester, which is a well-accepted cartridge for deer hunting.

If nothing else, my brother-in-law will have a counterexample in his mind, when someone says that the AR-15 platform is not suitable for hunting.